Alone in Fire
by RosemaryThief
Summary: Sumiko Yara's family has been running ever since she could remember. But, when Sumiko's family settles in Suna and meets a certain red-haired jinchuriki. Sumiko knows her life will never be the same. As secrets are kept and tensions run high Sumiko learns you can't trust anyone. Not even yourself. Tsundere!OC x Gaara
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **Sumiko Yara's family has been running since she could remember. But, when the tsundere girl settles down one day in Suna and meets a certain red-haired jinchuriki she knows her life will never be the same. Can she teaach Gaara to trust when she can't even trust herself. Or will they both end up alone in burning flames? Gaara x OC

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**Note: **This story probably has a lot of typos seeing as I don't have the patient to check over it a third or fourth time. I can barely check over it a second time. So if you see a typo just send me a pm and I'll try to fix it.

This is an Oc x Gaara fanfiction, and it's my first Naruto fanfiction so I'll try my best to be accurate. (I just finished Naruto and have to watch Naruto Ship.)

This is also my first time writing a tsundere so it might be a little off at first. But I'll get the hang of it eventually.

Let me know what you think! Enjoy! :)

**Bold=Kyubbi's/Shukaku's Thoughts**

_Italic= Normal Thoughts_

* * *

><p>Sumiko Yara watched as her 'friends' played on top of the hot white sand with a big red ball, taking turns as they passed it back and forth to one another. 'Friends,' of course, being her new neighbors that her mother forced her to interact with. Truthfully, Sumiko never understood why her mother put her in such awkward positions. She'd rather curl up in the warm sun with a book than be forced to play with spoiled kids who got everything they wanted.<p>

The five-year old sighed as she tilted her head back on the bench. The sun's warmth danced along her skin, leaving traces of warmth in their wake. Unlike most of her peers, Sumiko liked, no, _loved_ the heat.

She avoided shady parts of the park, letting her feet walk on the scolding sand. For some reason though, no matter how extreme the heat, Sumiko never got burnt. She could sit for hours watching the heat wash over her milky white skin and never get sunburned. She could walk on scorching coals and never get scalded. Sit on the burning sand and never get too hot. The heat seemed to love her, protecting her, wrapping her up in warmth she wasn't able to get anywhere else.

Her parents never really mentioned anything to her either, so she just guessed it was normal for a girl like her.

After all for her whole life Sumiko's been, well, as her friends call it, _weird._

Things happened around her that she had no control over. And it was enough for villagers to tease and make fun of her. In all of the past villages she had been to, she always seemed to be the gossip of the town within a few months. Usually as 'that weird pyro girl.'

But that never bothered her when she called her names. After five years of being treated that way, one starts to get used to it. Besides, all she had to do was yell at them or hit them with her kendo stick and they would automatically stop teasing her.

'Friends' were overrated anyways.

Or at least that's what she told herself.

Suddenly the boy playing with the ball kicked it, sending it up and over a wall. Sumiko's eyes watched as at the ball landed on the sand wall with a dull 'thud.'

A small red-haired boy who Sumiko had never met before came up though and pulled the ball down with some sand. Sumiko felt her eyes look at the sand pulling the ball down. It was like it was moving all on it's own. Was that a Jutsu?

_SO COOL!_

Sumiko hadn't had the chance to learn any jutus yet, but seeing one face to face was just as awesome.

The red-haired boy looked cautiously around at the others. He had a small anti-social frown on his face and looked awkward at the current situation.

"Here." He cautiously extended the ball to the boys and girls. He looked so hesistant and fragile, like he was about to burst into tears at any second. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and mustered an awkward smile. He looked so out of place around kids like these. It was like he was a tall prickly cactus in a field of short wimpy flowers.

And even though he looked dangerous, one look in his eyes was all she needed to know that he was just really uncomfortable with the current situation.

In a way Sumiko could relate.

Since she was travelling all the time she always had to start over at each town and make 'friends.' It was awkward each and every time she had to walk over to a new group and ask to play or introduce herself to them. Then after a while she just gave up. Kids were meanies and after a while they ended up calling her names just like everyone else. So why should she give her trust to them? But, as soon as her mother saw her waning off into the distance trying to avoid kids her age, Sumiko's mother forced her to go off with other groups to try and become 'friends.'

In all reality though Sumiko never had a _real_ friend in her entire five years.

Almost, _almost, _smiling Sumiko took a few steps forward until she heard a name that made her blood run cold.

"**DEMON!"**

All of the kids shrieked running away like he was a monster. Yelling "RUN," or "It's Gaara!"

Sumiko narrowed her eyes at all of them. Why were the acting like that towards him? He got the ball down for them! Why were they being meanies?

Sumiko's five-year old mind couldn't figure it out.

"Ah, wait!" The red-haired boy said holding out a small hand only slightly bigger than her own.

All of a sudden Sumiko felt someone pulling on her short, sleeveless, red t-shirt, and she saw one of her new neighbors. She remembered slightly that his name was Seiichi.

"Come on Sumi-chan we need to go!" He said still slightly pulling on her shirt. "Sumi-chan you don't know because you're new in town. But you need to stay away from Gaara!"

Why did she?!

Why did she have to stay away from him?

What right did Seiichi have to call Gaara names?

To run away like the boy in front of her was a mass weapon?

Sumiko honestly didn't care what power that boy possessed. (She actually thought his sand was really cool, although she wouldn't admit it.)People called her a demon before. She knew what it felt like. And she was not going to sit around and let someone else suffer what she did!

She turned to him with a fierce glare. "SEIICHI YOU MEANIE! Stop picking on Gaara-chan! Gaara-chan isn't a demon! SO JUST GO HOME ALREADY-TSUKI!" Sumiko yelled her verbal tick coming up at the end of the sentence. She inwardly groaned. She had been working so hard to get rid of her verbal tick. It always came up whenever she got mad though.

Seiichi's eyes widened in shock and his hand let go of her shirt as he ran away only taking a small glance back at his neighbor. Then when she saw Seiichi leave into the city she turned her eyes back to the red-haired boy still holding the ball. His big turquoise eyes stared at her in complete shock.

"Why are you staring at me like that baka! Don't you know that's rude?" Sumiko asked placing her hands firmly on her hips. The boy looked around like he was trying to avoid her gaze.

"I-well-I-um…" The boy trailed off nervously kicking his shoe back and forth.

"Well! Spit it out already!" The girl snapped folding her arms as she tapped her foot impatiently. Honestly, Sumiko wished she didn't say such hurtful things sometimes. But she couldn't help it. Ever since she got bullied on at every village she went to she learned to develop a tough skin. Or else their words would hurt her.

And Sumiko was tired of being hurt.

"Y-you said I wasn't a demon…" Gaara said rubbing the back of his head. "Why?"

"Haha! Because you're a terrible demon if you got a ball down for other kids your age!" Sumiko laughed holding a thumbs up towards the boy with a wide grin.

Gaara blinked.

This girl was definitely bi-polar.

"Well….what if I was?" Gaara asked again even more sheepishly.

"Was what?" Sumiko asked tilting her head to the side.

"A demon?" Gaara finally asked plain and loud. Sumiko stopped and thought about it for three seconds.

Exactly three seconds.

. . . .

"Okay."

"What?" Gaara asked his eyes growing wider than before.

"Okay then," Sumiko said nodding her head with a small frown. "That doesn't matter Gaara-chan. What matters is if you're a meanie or not. Are you a meanie?"

"I don't think so…" Gaara said shyly.

"Alright than! Ne, ne I saw you do that thing with the sand before. Can you do cool jutus?!" Sumiko asked walking up to him.

"Uhhhhhhh I guess?" Gaara asked. He wasn't quite sure what to make of this strange girl who had yet to run away. The girl just learned that he was a demon and she was still okay with it.

"AWESOME-tsuki! And, besides Gaara-chan just because you might _have_ a demon, doesn't _make_ you an automatic demon, right?"

Gaara was speechless at this girl. The first person in the world besides his uncle to ever show him compassion. She was weird. She was like both the hot and the cold. Extremely warm one minute but a deathly cold the next. Add the fact that she added a verbal tick whenever she got excited.

Gaara could come to the conclusion this girl might not be all that mentally sane.

But….

She was the first to ever look at the _true_ him.

And that had to count for something right?

"Say Gaara, I like you! Let's be friends!" She said with a small smile and as she did Sumiko noticed that she hadn't said anything cold to the boy in the past minute. And there was a weird, warm feeling inside her chest that she couldn't understand. Why was she feeling this around Gaara? She only got this feeling when she was around her parents.

Then, Gaara looked at the ground in front of him, his hair casting a shadow over his eyes.

"EHH? What's wrong-tsuki?!" Sumiko asked wondering why her newfound friend was sad.

He looked up and she saw a smile break out on the boy's face and Sumiko sucked in her breath.

Radiant.

That was the first thing that came to mind about Gaara's smile.

"Y-You're my first friend." He said shyly rocking back and forth on his feet. And Sumiko felt that warmth within her expand throughout her whole entire body. It flooded from her head all the way down to her toes, and went into every muscle, every bone, but most importantly….it went into her heart.

"W-w-well now you got me!" Sumiko said stuttering as a blush from embarrassment came to her cheeks. She wasn't good at this comforting type stuff. "And It's not that b-big of a deal, baka! I-I mean... now I have you and you have me right? So we don't need anyone else-tsuki!"

Gaara didn't know to feel insulted or happy.

Little did Gaara know, that it was a feeling he get used to in the future.

"And it's lonely playing with my dollies….so I need someone to play with right?" She continued looking at him with an embarrassing blush across her face.

After a few seconds Gaara held up the ball with a shy grin. "Do you wanna play now Sumiko-chan?"

"Of course!" She said all hint of sassiness or anger wiping off her face. She took a few step back as Gaara kicked the ball to her, which she kicked back to him. The two ran trying to outmatch each other, but Gaara ended up winning (he cheated with his sand, she inwardly accused) and after they were done playing Sumiko looked up at him. "Oh, and Gaara?"

"Yes?" He asked looking at her with an inquiring face.

"You're my first friend too."

* * *

><p>Sumiko headed home after a long day with playing with Gaara. She asked him if he would like to come over, but he instantly looked nervous and said he had to get home. She nodded understanding his family probably wanted him back. It was really late, and Sumiko's mom was probably ready to bust the door down and send a search team for her.<p>

She sighed as she looked up at the darkening sky. Night meant the cold, and Sumiko didn't want to get stuck outside when it became freezing. Thankfully, the sand was still warm from absorbing the heat from the sun, so she wasn't quite uncomfortable yet. Her scraped knee sort of stung as she walked on it, but she ignored it. She had scrape from tripping while she was playing with Gaara. It hurt a bit, but she wasn't going to complain about it. Besides, she had worse injuries it wasn't like it would scar or anything.

The funny thing was that after she tripped Gaara asked her what it was like to feel pain. Although she told him that she couldn't describe it, and was surprised when he told her he never felt pain before. They dropped the conversation after that.

Sumiko smiled as they same phrased replayed in her head: _I've got a friend, I've got a friend, I've got a friend, I've got a friend!_

The girl had to refrain herself from adding a skip to her step as she went down the sidewalk.

The warm feeling had still yet to go away.

Maybe this was why people had friends? Was it because of this warm feeling you get when you played with them? If this was what friends felt like maybe she should get more to them?

She smiled as she reached her house. It was made out of sandstone like the rest and wasn't too big. But it was enough for the three of them. She jumped up the steps to her porch and reached for the door. But before she could turn the handle the door quickly opened, and a hand shot out and dragged her inside. The door slammed behind her and Sumiko was face-to-face with an angry red-haired woman she had known all her life.

Warning bells went off in her head and she forced a small grin.

"Hello Mama," Sumiko said shyly giving a short rage. And then her mother opened her mouth.

_Here we go-_

"WHERE WERE YOU?! DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS? HOW LONG I WAS WAITING? I WAS THIS CLOSE, THIS CLOSE," Her mother put her thumb and her forefinger almost on top to each other signally the small space in between. "THIS CLOSE TO CALLING THE NINJA FOR A RESCUE PARTY!" The woman stopped visibly trying to calm down. "And how did you get a scrape on your leg? Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

_Sumiko was starting to get the idea…._

"And Seiichi got back two hours ago! Well do you have anything to explain yourself with?" Her mother asked hands firmly on her hips. Honestly, Sumiko wondered if she got her angry side from her mother, who was such a large opposite from her father's calm and aloof-like attitude.

"Woah Enju, let our daughter breathe a bit before interrogating her." A man said walking into the room. Sumiko stared at her father who had black hair and green eyes. He was currently wearing black pants and had lazily thrown on a fishnet long-sleeved shirt. His green eyes met Sumiko's and he gave her a teasing wink as he tried to calm her mother down. Sumiko knew that although she inherited her mother's red hair, she had her dad's bright green eyes and lanky yet muscular statute. Her eyes were probably the only feature she was proud of. And she had her father to thank for that.

"I'm sorry Mama…I'm sorry Papa." Sumiko said shyly. "But I was playing with my new friend and lost track of time. And to answer your question Mama I fell down and scraped my knee it wasn't my friend's fault though."

"Friend?"

The switch in Sumiko's mother was automatic as she bent down and grabbed her daughter's broad shoulders. "Sumiko you made a friend?!" She asked exasperated. Sumiko didn't know whether to be offended or not at her mother's shocked tone, but she went with it.

"Mm-hm! We played soccer and he showed me his teddy bear!" Sumiko said nodding her head up and down with enthusiasm.

"Well why didn't you just say so in the first place Sumi-chan?" Anju asked with a laugh as she stood up and placed her hands on her hips. "What's his name dear?"

"His name is Gaara! A-and why do you act so shocked-tsuki! It's not like I'm totally cold!" Sumiko said with a small irritated frown, and that made Anju laugh even more.

"Haha, sorry Sumi-chan! But, I'm just really happy for you." And although Sumiko's mom sounded really happy at the news, Sumiko saw a more serious look fall onto his face.

"Gaara? The Kazekage's son?" Her Papa asked a stern face coming onto his face. Sumiko's frown deepened but she nodded. Sumiko wasn't sure what to say when seeing her dad like this. His usual aloofness was gone, and in its place was a cold harder look she had never seen before.

"Ah, so the boy's name is Gaara! How about next time I'll make some cookies for you to take to him?" She said with a cheery smile completely ignoring the looming look on her husband's face. "And what did I say about that verbal tick Sumi-chan? If you don't get rid of it now it'll be harder to get rid of it when you're grown."

Sumiko was about to respond, but her father beat her to it.

"Enju can we talk in the kitchen?" His eyes quickly flicking over to Sumiko standing by the door, "Alone?"

"Sure honey. Okay Sumiko why don't you go wash up for dinner? And make sure you dress your scrape. We have dango for dessert tonight by the way, but you're only getting some if you eat all of your vegetables." Enju said and Sumiko nodded fiercely.

Dango was like edible gold in Sumiko's eyes. She would do almost anything for dango.

Almost drooling over the thought of having her favorite thing of all time, Sumiko rushed up to her room and took a quick shower. She picked out a clean outfit that consisted of a kimono-like shirt with sleeves that stopped at her elbow. She put on a knee-length pair of black stretchable shorts underneath a small black skirt. Then she slipped on her shinobi sandals (she had to beg her mother for them) and headed downstairs.

However she stopped on the steps as she heard her parent's conversation.

"I didn't say I wouldn't allow it! I just said I didn't like it Enju!"

"She finally has a friend, and you're complaining Len? Did you see how happy she was coming in? I thought I wouldn't ever get to see her smile like that. She didn't even have that much of a cold front towards us!"

"I've heard rumors about that boy, nasty rumors." Sumiko's father, Len, said.

"So what? Do you remember that our daughter had rumors spread about her too? Did you forget why we switched villages in the first place? Because it's safer here for our daughter! And now you're going to let childish rumors get in your way?"

"This is different Enju, I heard he housed a demon." Len said and Sumiko felt cold, her Papa was calling Gaara a demon too?

"I can't believe you. That's enough! We're not having this conversation anymore! Sumiko is a good judge of character, and she wouldn't befriend a bad person that easily!"

"He might not be a bad person, but what if they're using him to get close to her. What if they want her Kekkei Genkai?"

Sumiko scrunched up her nose. What was a K-Kekkei Genkai? And why did she have it?

"They might be ninja, but I doubt they would use a child to get close to her. But if it makes you feel better I can always use my _skills_ and interrogate him if he comes over. Of course it would only be psychological…Don't want to scare the poor buddy too bad."

Sumiko's face blanched. Her mother's skill set was in the Torture and Intelligence team. T.I for short. And one couldn't imagine what happened in that building. Suddenly she didn't want Gaara to come over anymore. She became scared whenever her mother mentioned her '_skills.'_

"Nah, I'm not that suspicious." He said and Sumiko sighed in relief. "But maybe we should trail him for a while just in case." Sumiko deadpanned. That was almost just as bad!

"Whatever dear, now set the table. Sumiko should be done any moment now."

Sumiko relaxed as her parent's conversation ended. There were plenty things she didn't understand including the part of having a Kekkei Genkai. Something wasn't adding up, and Sumiko was going to get to the bottom of it….

….

...

...

After she ate that dango downstairs.

* * *

><p>Gaara held the healing salve in his hands as he walked down the street at night. It wasn't until he was talking to Yashamaru that he remembered about Sumiko's scrape. It wasn't too bad, but he sort of felt bad since the reason she fell was because she was playing with him. He smiled to himself as the warmth he felt from earlier came back and spread throughout his body. Gaara had never felt like this before. If this was what having a friend was, maybe he would try even harder to get more friends. Although, to be honest he would be happy just with Sumiko. The girl accepted him for who he was...well, who she thought he was. The warmth that had started in his heart helped lessen the pain. Maybe one day after they were friends for a while the pain would even go away? He didn't know. He just knew that the warmth felt comforting. And Sumiko was to thank for that.<p>

Although he didn't know how things would work out between them.

He was the village monster.

He knew she was sure to leave him after a while. Once she figured out what he was from first experience would she still like him. Would she like him when she knows he _hurt_ people, _killed_ people? Soon enough she would be pointing fingers at him calling him a monster like the rest of them.

**She'll leave you like everyone else….you'll be lonely again….**

The voice rang throughout his head.

_I don't know…maybe she'll stay?_

It was more of a question than a remark though.

**You're a fool if you think she'll stick around once she knows you're a murderer. She'll hate you just like the rest.**

_N-NO! I can't think that! It's not true! Stop it! Stop it!_

He was only a few yards from where his uncle told him Sumiko's house was.

**Sumiko will hate you….**

_STOP!_

Ten yards….

**Everyone hates you…**

_No both Uncle and Sumiko love me! They-they said so._

Five yards…

**You're deluding yourself. You know what is true.**

_You're wrong._

He was now on their porch…..

**Fine, but don't blame me when everything goes downhill.**

_Trust me, I won't…_

Door…

Then he raised his fist and knocked.

* * *

><p>Sumiko had just finished her third dango stick and her cup of green tea when there was a knock at the door. Her head shot up and looked at it. They had a visitor? Sumiko's mother was just about to get up to answer it, but her husband beat her to it. Len Yara opened up the door and inwardly let out a string of cuss words inside his mind.<p>

_He _was here.

"Who is it honey?" Enju asked from the kitchen, getting up and walking over as well. Seeing a boy Sumiko's age, Enju already guessed he was Gaara.

"What do you want?" Len asked coldly and Enju jabbed her husband in the ribs with her elbow. She sent him a glare seeming to say something like:

_This is Sumiko's first friend you ruin it and I'll ruin you. _

Len promptly took a few steps behind his sadistic wife.

"Hey sweetie wanna come inside? We just made dango." Enju said sweetly to the boy who shyly shook his head. He held up the healing salve up, and with a nod from the boy Enju took it in her hands. "What is it?"

"H-healing salve, Sumiko scraped her knee….and I thought it might help her." Gaara said shyly looking at the door to avoid both of their eye's.

"Aw, how sweet!" Enju said with a grin. "Sumiko is sure to get better with your help! But it's so expensive and her scrape is really small. Are you sure you want us to have the whole jar."

Gaara nodded his head up and down quickly not saying anymore. Gaara never got hurt so he never needed it. And his father could probably buy a thousand of the jars.

"Alright then, we'll are you sure you don't wanna come inside sweetheart? It's cold out there." Enju asked sweetly. Something about this boy made her mother's instincts go wild. And she had to restrain herself from scooping the boy up and taking him inside to feed him. But what she didn't know is if she tried Gaara's sand would probably kill her.

Gaara shook his head.

"Well then if you're not coming inside go home and don't stand there! Don't come back anyways. I don't like you hanging around my daughter. Sumiko probably doesn't wanna hang around you anyways." Len snapped at the boy closing the door quickly.

"LEN I SWEAR YOU DID NOT JUST SLAM THE DOOR IN A CHILD'S FACE! AND AFTER HE CAME ALL THE WAY HERE FOR SUMIKO! YOU GO OUTSIDE AND APOLOGIZE RIGHT NOW OR I'LL MAKE YOU!" Enju yelled her hand digging in her side pouch. A few seconds later she was heading towards her husband with killing intent spreading throughout the house.

Sumiko however, pushed past her parent's and opened the door to find no one there. She owlishly looked up at her parents. "Was Gaara-chan here? I thought I heard his voice from the kitchen?"

Both of her parents looked at her with guilty faces as her mother tried to find the words to say to her daughter.

"Yes he was, and I don't want you seeing him anymore." Len said looking at his daughter with a stern face.

"Well too bad Tou-san because I am." Sumiko said without a second thought.

"What did you just say?" Len asked shocked. He had never heard his daughter talk to him like this.

"Baka Tou-san!" Sumiko said. "Gaara is so alone! This isn't just about you-tsuki."

Enju found herself too proud of her daughter standing up for what she believed in that she forgot to scold her for calling her father an idiot.

"Wait a second Sumiko! Where are you going?" Len asked as Sumiko pushed past him to grab her coat.

"To find Gaara-chan and apologize-tsuki!" Sumiko huffed as she stormed once again out the door into the night. Len looked astonished as the door closed with a 'bang.' He turned to his wife to see her smiling.

"Aw, my little girl's all grown up! Going and chasing her boy down in the middle of the night!"

"Wait- _her_ boy?!" Len asked, "Enju, they're just kids!"

Besides there was no way in the Elemental Nations he would allow Gaara of the Sand to date his little girl. It wasn't ever going to happen if he had a say in it.

"I give it until to their fifteen! That's when it'll really kick in!" Enju said giving a thumbs up to her husband, and not for the first time he wondered how he came to love his sadistic wife. "Speaking of Gaara-chan…about what you said earlier!"

Suddenly the killer intent he thought was gone re-appeared.

"N-now honey, you know I love you, r-right?!" He asked backing up until his back hit the white wall behind him. "I was just doing what I thought was right for Sumiko."

"Hehe, if you don't apologize to Gaara-chan then I might have to castrate you." And Len noted that she said all of that with a sinister smile. And Len knew he was in deep, deep trouble as his wife held up the kunai from earlier.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p>Cold, really, really, deathly, freezing cold. To a normal person it wouldn't be <em>that<em> frosty, but for Sumiko it was like walking through vaporized ice. _Stupid Tou-san…Stupid Gaara…Stupid nighttime…._ She rattled off in her head as a small wind blew past her freezing her anymore. Sumiko staggered to Gaara's house at an alarmingly slow rate, and she was pretty shocked at herself. It shouldn't have taken her this long to get here. The red-haired girl sighed. There wasn't anything she could do about it.

And it was only five minutes later that she found Gaara along one of the roof's nearby. Sumiko trotted over him careful not to hurt her knee any further and bent down a few yards beside him. She watched as sand was in a circle around his body. It seemed he hadn't noticed her yet. He was sitting on the edge of the roof, and his eyes clenched shut like he was having an internal argument with himself and was about to cry.

Well that was no good.

"Gaara-chan," Sumiko called out in a friendly tone. Gaara's eyes snapped open and looked towards her. And inside his eyes she saw an emotion she didn't expect.

_Hate_.

Maybe that wasn't Gaara though. Maybe that was the demon inside of Gaara. Either way, she wouldn't back down and gave an every friendlier smile.

"I didn't know my Tou-san would say that Gaara." She said and watched as he blinked. "And I don't care what he says I still wanna be your friend."

She watched as all of the anger and hate seemed to drain away from his face leaving a crying child in it's wake. Had Gaara been crying the whole time?

"I-I don't want you and your family to fight…" He trailed off looking at the ground below. Sumiko smiled and just shook her head.

"That isn't something you caused. My family fights all the time. Although, I think it's one of the ways we show we love each other." Sumiko said sitting down on the ledge next to him with her legs crossed. She looked up at the moon above them and felt perfectly at peace. She didn't know why, but right now it was so tranquil just with her and Gaara.

"You…fight to show you love each other?" Gaara asked eyes wide. "I thought when you fight you hurt one another….isn't that opposite?

"Haha! I guess it is opposite. But, I know deep down inside they love me. Sure, we fight sometimes, but that's just because we can't communicate well together. I know my Kaa-san and Tou-san would never hurt me purposely."

"Hurt you…purposely?" Gaara asked looking at her with a frown. "So they've hurt you before on accident?"

"Yeah, but it's okay, because for each little time they accidently call me a name or forget about me they make it up ten times the amount they hurt me. They read me a bedtime story, or Tou-san will play with my dolls with me even though he hates them. Little things like that show me that they love me."

Gaara looked back down at the ground and seemed to be contemplating something. He looked back up with a small awkward smile.

"So they fix your broken heart with love, right?" He asked.

"Well of course, they're my parents after all. It's a requirement that they love me. And since you're my best friend they're required to love you too." Sumiko said with a smile.

"Love me?" Gaara asked looking up at the sky. Then he put a hand over his heart and clenched his shirt. "I have a broken heart…it hurts. It hurts a lot….I've never been hurt physically before, but everyday there's this pain right inside here." He looked down at his chest. "I don't understand why everyone calls me a monster. Why I'm the only one in the village who gets made fun of. "

Sumiko watched with a blank face as she tried to comprehend what was in front of her. Does that mean that no one has loved Gaara? What about his dad the Kazekage? Didn't he have siblings? Didn't his family love him?

Suddenly Sumiko heard a noise behind both of them and then the impact of what seemed like sand. Her whole body froze in fear. She knew that noise anywhere. How many times did she hear it when Tou-san would practice throwing kunai in the yard? The many times she heard the Genin of the town practice at the academy. Making herself slowly turned around she saw Gaara's shell of sand protecting both of them. However it was only by a centimeter that it didn't hit her. Gaara's shield was only protect Gaara, it just so happened a little bit was in her way. She didn't have the same self-protection Gaara had.

"Why do I…Why am I the only one to have to go through all of this?!" Gaara said turning around his eyes narrowing with the hate she saw earlier. She felt like she should reach out and touch him, but fear wouldn't allow her. She was frozen still like a startled rabbit.

Gaara took a step down and watched as the man used more kunai towards him. Gaara's sand protected him, however one of the kunai swooshed past her barely grazing her forearm. Her arm was an inch away from being penetrated! W-why? She didn't understand what was going on.

Why would someone attack Gaara?

Did they hate him that bad?

Gaara's sand wrapped around the man holding him up in the air. Gaara's face looked full of hatred, but he managed to say, "Sumiko close your eyes."

And she did just that.

She didn't see the shower of blood, or the man falling limp to the ground, but she did hear Gaara sniffling. She cracked open her eyes and all the color drained from her face.

S-so much blood…..

"W-why?" Gaara asked trembling in fright. This was the most daring assassination yet. He then noticed a small bandage on the man's finger and blanched. He didn't want to believe it. Maybe it was a coincidence? He walked over slowly, still trembling.

He tore of the mask and his eyes widened in pain.

"You're strong as I expected…" The man with blond hair said in blood. "Gaara-sama."

Suddenly the boy flinched and pain and clenched the shirt in front of his heart. Why-why was this happening?!

He made a strangled sound like he was slowly being suffocated.

Sumiko didn't understand what was going on. This man just attacked them, and if it wasn't for Gaara the man might have killed her. She slowly made her feet walk a few steps. Her body was still in shock and she had to force her brain to go through the sequence: lift foot, move foot, put down foot, lift, move, down, lift, move, down. ..

"Yasahmaru!" Gaara let out a deafening cry curling up in a little ball.

Sumiko moved behind Gaara unsure of what to do. Should she go and get Papa? Would he even come to help?

"Why-why? You…you…I thought you were…" Gaara trailed off trying to wipe his tears away.

"It was an order," Yashamaru said looking up at the sky instead of the boy in front of him. "I was ordered to kill you."

Sumiko gasped. Who-who would order for Gaara to be dead? Who dare to try and kill her best friend?! Suddenly Sumiko's fright turned into anger. Who would make Gaara kill the one he loved? She didn't know the man, but she could tell he was deeply important to him.

"You were born with the Shukaku of the Sand and then observed like a guinea pig, Gaara-sama. But since you could not control the living soul of the Shukaku, and were unable to manipulate it's sand on your own, your existence was deemed a danger to the village."

Gaara was still crying, but a small smile came upon his face confusing Sumiko even more.

"Then you did this unwilling because Father ordered you to…" The boy asked/said with a small glance of hope.

Than Yashamaru opened his mouth, and that hope shattered right before both the kid's eyes.

"No, that is not correct."

Sumiko didn't know whether she needed to kill Gaara's father first or go ahead and finish the man right in front of her. Why? Why did Gaara have to go through this pain?! Her five-year-old mind couldn't grasp what justified the act in front of her.

"It is true that I was ordered from Kazekage-sama. But I could have refused it if I wanted to."

Stop it.

Stop it now.

Stop hurting Gaara!

"Gaara-sama," Yashamaru uttered almost close to his last breath.

No stop it, don't say another word!

"Deep down in my heart,"

Don't you dare Yashamaru! Gaara loved you!

"I hated you."

No…

Sumiko turned her head away tears rolling down her cheeks.

No…

"You took the life of my beloved sister when you were born. My sister never wished for your birth. She became the village's sacrifice. Cursing this village as she died."

Then the horror of his words sank in and Sumiko gasped. Gaara's mother hated him?  
>NO, NO! That wasn't right! No mother could hate their child…right?<p>

_His father did try to kill him._

"After that I carried a wound that could never heal."

So, what about Gaara? Don't you think he's hurting too?

"My sister gave you your name. But my sister did not give you your name because she cared or loved for you. She gave you that name so you could continue to exist. Because she hated and cursed this village as she died, and wanted her hatred to exist and remain."

Sumiko couldn't think anymore she just stood there emotionlessly as his words flooded around her. Until now she would brush off hurtful words. She would take them with a grin as she taunted the person right back. But she didn't know about these types of words. These words that burned with every syllable the type that caused such great pain that couldn't be healed. If she had known about these types of words…she never would have taken the other words for granted.

"You were not loved."

And then Sumiko heard a faint sizzling sound, but she couldn't think, couldn't move. How come even though the words weren't directed towards her, she still felt pain? If she felt pain too, how much did Gaara feel right now? Sumiko's eyes turned toward's Gaara's body that was no longer shaking. He was completely still.

"Please die."

And then everything moved in slow motion. She saw a flash of light and heard someone in the distance yelling out her name. And she couldn't do anything but watch the scene unfold in front of her…

And the bombs detonated.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary: **Sumiko Yara's family has been running since she could remember. But, when the tsundere girl settles down one day in Suna and meets a certain red-haired jinchuriki she knows her life will never be the same. Can she teaach Gaara to trust when she can't even trust herself. Or will they both end up alone in burning flames? Gaara x OC

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**Note: **Hope y'all like this chapter! Tell me if you think Gaara is a little OC. I'll try my best to fix it. I got some of the ideas for this chapter watching my niece play house and hopscotch, so hopefully you can tell about the kid's way of thinking. XD

**Bold=Kyubbi's/Shukaku's Thoughts**

_Italic= Normal Thoughts_

* * *

><p>It took the young red-head exactly five seconds to realize that she wasn't dead. Her short chubby hands started to pat around her body to see if all of her body parts were still there. Thankfully, she was still in one piece. After the explosion her sight and hearing became disoriented. There was a ringing going off in her ears, and her field of vision wobbled. She could hear small sounds and make out the shapes of objects, but her hearing and sight were impaired.<p>

But Sumiko knew she was going to be okay. She didn't know how she knew, she just did. She figured it must be what her daddy called, "gut intuition."

The girl felt big hands wrap around her shoulders and she looked up to see her father's worried face. She strained to try and hear what he was saying.

"You're…going…..okay….no…okay." His voice faded in and out, but slowly she as she started to regain a sense of her hearing she could focus on what he was saying.

"You're going to be okay baby girl. Sorry I couldn't get here sooner." He whispered pulling the girl's semi-limp body into his tight embrace. He whispered sweet nothing's into her ear as he stroked her hair. But even with her father holding her, Sumiko's mind only thought of one thing.

Gaara

Where was Gaara? Somehow she ended up blown away because of the blast as was at the edge of the roof. Her eyes scanned the area and widened as she saw Gaara a little ways off. His sand protected him from the explosion. So the question was…

What protected her?

"Papa…how am I still alive?" The girl asked her voice shaking as she clung to her father's shirt. She took comfort into his scent and melted into his arms.

"Um, about that baby girl…" He trailed off as he seemed to have an internal debate. "We need to talk princess."

"Gaara," She said weakly as she tried to stand on her own. Her knees trembled and suddenly she collapsed.

"Woah there baby girl, don't try to move yet. That sort of explosion was big enough to wipe all the chakra from you."

"Chakra?" The girl asked remembering her Papa trying to explain it to her before.

"Like I said princes,, we need to talk when we get home it's sort of a long story."

"Gaara," She said again trying to move towards her best friend, but her father placed his hand on her shoulder stopping her.

"Wait just a second princess." He said softly as they looked at the crying boy. Gaara was still in the center of his dome of sand and was crying heavily. Sumiko gasped as she only saw a crater that used to be Gaara's uncle. His remains now only piles of ash to be blown away in the wind.

"Huh? Sumiko! You're bleeding!" Her father said as he noticed a cut on her face that extended from her jaw down to the middle side part of her neck. But Sumiko didn't notice any pain all she could do is watch as the sand around her friend fell leaving him now defenseless.

Then suddenly the sand started to swirl in the wind, wrapping around Gaara like a sandstorm.

What was happening? Sumiko couldn't see Gaara's face until the sand was done and quiet.

Then Gaara turned around and she saw that a kanji mark appeared onto his forehead. In a few seconds Sumiko had already rushed over to him.

"Gaara-chan!" Sumiko exclaimed getting closer to the boy. Gaara still had tears in his eyes, but now it wasn't streaming down his face like before. His eyes looked colder, but Sumiko had expected that. If she was in Gaara's place she wouldn't even have a heart left. "Are-are you okay?"

"Go away Sumiko." Gaara said looking at her coldly. "I realized now that I'm alone. I don't need anyone else."

Sumiko turned quiet at his words, and a few yards away Len Yara cursed in his head. If he hadn't turned the boy down none of this would have happened.

His daughter wouldn't have been hurt.

Gaara's thoughts were running along the same lines as Len's. If he hadn't gone to Sumiko's house would Yashamaru still have tried to kill him? Both of the men were thinking about what they could have done, until an angry shout cut off their thoughts.

"BAKA!" She spat at the boy looking at him with angry eyes. Gaara's eyes widened as he took a step back. "How could you say you're alone? You have me don't you? You said you were going to be my friend Gaara! SO PROVE IT! Prove you weren't lying! You're my first Gaara it's going to take more than an explosion and a little scratch to scare me off. You should've known what you were signing up for when you agreed to be my friend-tsuki! Because now there is no going back."

Gaara's eyes widened.

She had just seen him kill his uncle, and she was still concerned about being his friend? Gaara clutched the shirt above his heart. It still hurt. It was broken beyond repair, and Gaara knew his heart would never be the same after tonight. Yashamaru took that loving part of Gaara with him to the grave. But still…but still…when Sumiko spoke there was a little spark.

And Gaara would cling to that little spark with his life.

"Hn, if that's what you want to do." He mumbled turning his back to her. He still had tears in his eyes and tried to wipe them away.

Crying wouldn't bring Yashamaru back.

Nothing would help heal this betrayal he felt.

Then suddenly he felt two arms wrap themselves from behind him. Sumiko's forehead was pressed against the back of his neck. Sumiko was hugging him…and the sand wasn't stopping Sumiko let go, too soon in his case, and the boy shifted on his feet awkwardly.

"Wanna come over Gaara?" Sumiko asked as she placed her hand on his shoulder. He turned and faced her his eyes dull and lifeless. He didn't speak. Too afraid that his voice would show the emotion he felt.

But he nodded.

And that was all Sumiko needed.

* * *

><p>Gaara looked around at the girl's room. He tried to bring the words to his mind that described it, but only one word seemed to fit.<p>

"Red," he simply said. Sumiko only laughed as his emotionless expression. It was true, it was red. The walls were a dark crimson red while the carpet was a lighter red. The curtains were thankfully white, but red dominated almost everything in the room.

The boy walked over seeing various drawings across her desk. He also looked at all of the plushies piled in the corner next to her closest. She seemed to have at least one plushie of every kind of animal. It was apparent her father obviously spoilt her. Although one thing seemed to draw in the boy's attention, Gaara looked over the bookshelf seeing various books ranging from story tales to small non-fiction children's books.

"Do you like them? Kaa-san reads to me every night, right before bed." Sumiko said clinging to a particular red fox plushie. It was more worn down than the others. Patches of the red were now fading, some of the seams were broken, and the button eyes looked loose. There were many patches where Gaara could tell Sumiko's mother tried to fix it for her.

Sumiko walked up to the book shelf and pulled out a particularly older book with a rose on it. "This one is my favorite. It's called 'Beauty and the Beast.' It's my favorite because the princess, although she's pretty, doesn't fall in love at first sight and actually stands up for herself. I think Bell would make a good kunoichi." She giggled as she flipped through it several illustrations peeking through the pages.

"Do you want to read it?" Sumiko asked and Gaara nodded. They both laid down on the bed, side to side. They're feet were lying on the pillow and Sumiko laid the book open on the bed. Gaara looked at the first page before he gave her a small nudge.

"Want me to read it?" Sumiko asked with a grin.

Gaara nodded.

"Alright, but don't get used to it! I'm only doing it once." She said a bit of sass, but Gaara didn't mind as she cleared her voice and started to read. "Once upon a time…"

* * *

><p>A few days later Sumiko found herself at the playground with Gaara, sitting on the swings. She kicked herself up and enjoyed the feeling of flying through the air. Gaara sat beside her looking up with her with one of his unreadable expressions. She smiled and started to slow down, jumping off when the swing was mid-way in the air. She landed on her feet perfectly, and she gave a cheer.<p>

Gaara deadpanned not sure what was going through his best friend's head.

"Hey Gaara, you brought you're teddy bear right?" Sumiko asked with a grin. Gaara nodded.

"Well, where is he baka?" She asked walking over to him. He brought it out and Sumiko looked over it up and down. "I never asked, but what's his name?"

"Name?" Gaara asked.

"Yeah name! Don't you name your plushies?" She asked. The boy nodded his head slowly and Sumiko sighed.

_Must be a girl thing, _She thought to herself as she gave her friend a triumphant smile.

"Well how about we name him together?" Sumiko asked the boy. Gaara thought for a few seconds before he nodded his head.

"How about Kai?" Gaara shook his head. "Okay then, how about Kagayama?" Another no, "Akira?" No, "Rei?" No, "Nagisa?" No. "Natsu?" No..No…No.. !

"Well, what do you want to name him?" She asked with a sigh. A vein popping out of the girl's head as she tried to come up with a suitable name.

"…Kaito?" He asked looking up with a small frown and a slight blush from embarrassment.

"That's the name you come up with baka?!" Sumiko asked looking at him. He nodded sure about his answer and then Sumiko sighed. "Well…it's not like it's the worse name you could've made up-tsuki."

Gaara gave a small smile as the girl twirled the teddy bear around in a circle.

"Ne, Gaara?"

Gaara looked at her and she bent over with a small smile. "Since we named Kaito together does that make us his parents?"

Gaara thought about it for a few seconds. Didn't a wife and husband work together to name their child? It seemed right.

"I know! We can play house! You can be the Tou-san and I can be the Kaa-san, and Kaito can be our child."  
>Gaara frowned. He saw Temari playing house all the time with her friends, and it didn't seem something that he would be interested in. But seeing her pleading eyes, the boy caved in and mutely nodded.<p>

"YAY!" The girl said and walked over and placed Kaito in the boy's arms. "Now you have to hold Kaito while I cook the soup. No, Gaara, Kaito's a baby. You have to hold him like this, see? Rest his head between your elbow. You have to support baby's heads or else they can hurt themselves."

Gaara nodded watching intently as Sumiko instructed him on the proper way to hold the teddy bear. Sumiko would have laughed. She hadn't expected him to take it so seriously. Most boys by now would have thrown the bear across the field and called the game 'dumb' or 'for girls.' But Gaara only watched as he trailed behind her and exclaimed all the jobs he was in charge of as her 'husband.'

He trailed behind her with a basket she provided him with. (He had no idea where she had gotten it.) She placed various items in the basket like shiny pebbles or small pieces of sandstone, pretending to be 'shopping.' He merely walked behind her and listened as she rattled off about menial things like school or her drawings at home. But, she looked up with a huge smile and Gaara felt that spark of warmth he had felt earlier.

"But the Tou-san has the most important job, Gaara. And that's to protect his wife and their children. Can you do that Gaara? Can you protect me and Kaito forever and ever?" She asked hugging the bear to her chest.

Gaara nodded.

That was something he could do.

* * *

><p>Sumiko flopped onto the living room couch exhausted from playing with Gaara. Since the day of the accident Sumiko felt tired. She slept through most of the day only waking up to play with Gaara. But when she got home she felt drained of energy as if there was some unknown parasite sucking away at her life force. And some nights she woke up with her shoulder burning like it was on fire.<p>

She tried not to scream on those nights. She didn't want to wake Tou-san or Kaa-san up. But slowly they were fading away.

The girl honestly didn't know what was wrong with her, and she stifled a yawn as her Papa walked into the room, hovering over her with worried green eyes. He sighed as he scooped up his little girl in his arms. She closed her eyes feeling her father's love wrap around her. Tempting her to fade away into the land of dreams.

"Sumiko-chan, we need to talk." Len Yara said worriedly as his daughter yawned in his arms. She nodded slowly with half-lidded eyes. He carried her over the kitchen table sitting her down in a chair. She looked up to see her mother and father side by side. Her mother had one hand resting on the chair in front of her, while the other grasped her husband's hand.

"Sumiko you need to know how you survived that explosion." Len said looking at her with alert eyes.

Sumiko sipped on her tea, becoming more awake as the caffeine entered her system. "How did I survive the explosion Papa?"

"Honey you know some people are born _special_ right?" Enju asked looking at her daughter who merely nodded.

There it was again, that word…_special. _Some people called her that in her past villages, but she knew they meant something far worse. Why did her parents bring it up?

"Gaara has his sand that protects him right? Well that's a special ability that not everyone has." Len tried to explain looking at his daughter with caring eyes.

"Why, we even met a boy who could control ice up in the Land of Mist once!" Enju said with a small smile. "Well those special abilities have a name."

"And they're called a Kekkei Genkai." Len said watching as his daughter nodded in understanding.

"So some people are born with abilities while some aren't?" Sumiko asked tilting her head. "Well, what does that have to do with me-tsuki?"

"We believe you have a Kekkei Genkai, Sumiko." Len said slowly as his daughter's eyes widened. "It hasn't been confirmed before, but others have guessed at it. The night of the explosion just affirmed our suspicions."

"Wh-what's my Kekkei Genkai? Am I dangerous?!" Sumiko asked choking out the last part. Sumiko had seen what Gaara's sand could do. Was she that capable of hurting someone?

"What? No! Of course not." Enju said walking over and placing her hands on her daughter's shoulders. Sumiko turned as her mother looked at her with worried filled eyes. "Sumiko have you realized that you have never got burnt in your entire life?"

Sumiko thought back to a time when her mother was cooking noodles. Sumiko being only a toddler at that time tried to pick up the pot only to have boiling water poured all over her. Her mother rushed her to the hospital minutes later only to realize that Sumiko was completely fine.

The girl nodded her head.

"Sumiko you have a beautiful and extraordinary gift. Yes, some people might not understand you, but don't listen to what they say. They're all lousy bast-"

"AHEM!" Len coughed loudly looking at his wife with a narrowed stare. But Sumiko could still see a small smile on his lips.

"…idiots anyways." Enju said rubbing the back of her head shyly.

"You have the power to control and take in fire Sumiko." Len said. Sumiko gasped covering her hands with her mouth, but her dad only picked her up and Enju came around and hugged her as well. She was cocooned between her parents, and could clearly feel their love for her radiate off of them. She felt warm, safe, loved. "You're going to be fine Sumiko. You're going to learn to control it. But you don't need to worry, because we'll be here with you every step of the way."

"But-what if-what if I hurt someone accidently?" Sumiko asked her eyes blinking with tears.

"Then you'll learn from that experience and grow stronger." Enju said stroking her daughter's hair.

"So the reason I didn't die?" Sumiko asked looking at her father.

"You absorbed the flames from the explosion. That's why you've been so tired these past few days. You're body took such and impact, but you depleted all of your chakra absorbing the fire. It's going to take a while to get it all back." Len said resting his head on her crown. Sumiko sighed and nodded. She understood what her parents were saying and knew she could only try her best to control this new power of hers.

She sighed contently as her parents continued to shower her with love. Her mother hugging her, and her father kissing her forehead. Even though she knew the upcoming road was going to be tough at least she knew she had her parents by her side to help her with it.

Her father carried her up to her bedroom and tucked her into her warm red sheets and blanket. Her mother kissed her forehead gently and they left the room turning off the lights as they went. Sumiko smiled as she went to sleep with a smile on her face.

Never knowing of the nightmares that waited for her tomorrow.


End file.
